This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

6453 

Vol. 73, No. 23 

Monday, February 4, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA, and 

Bureau of Land Management, DOI. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement to analyze and disclose new 

information relative to oil and gas 

leasing of 44,720 acres on the Big Piney 

Ranger District. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), after receiving 

nominated oil and gas lease parcels and 

appropriate lease stipulations from the 

Forest Service (FS), sold and issued 12 

leases, and sold 23 other leases that 

have not been issued. An appeal to the 

Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) 

resulted in a stay being granted for the 

12 issued leases. Upon request, the 

appeal was remanded back to the BLM 

for resolution. The IBLA decision held 

that BLM had relied on an inadequate/ 

stale NEPA analysis in reaching its 

decision to sell and issue the lease 

parcels. In the case of oil and gas leasing 

decisions on National Forest system 

lands, and in conformance with a MOU 

between the BLM and FS which 

identifies the need for BLM to be a 

cooperating agency, the NEPA analysis 

that was relied on by BLM to inform 

leasing decisions was adopted from the 

appropriate and applicable Forest 

Service NEPA. This supplemental EIS 

will address the issues identified by 

IBLA as inadequately or inappropriately 

addressed in previous NEPA analyses 

informing leasing decisions, and other 

issues identified through scoping. 

DATES: Comments concerning new 

information or issues not previously 

considered in the leasing analysis must 

be postmarked no later than 45 days 

from the publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. The Draft 

Supplemental EIS (DSEIS) is expected 

in May of 2008 and the Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (FSEIS) is expected in 

September of 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Stephen Haydon, Forest Minerals Staff, 

Bridger-Teton National Forest, 340 N. 

Cache, PO Box 1888, Jackson, WY 

83001–1888. Send electronic comments 

to: comments-intermtn-bridgerteton@fs.fed.us; with the subject clearly 

titled ‘‘Leasing EIS’’. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen Haydon, Project Leader. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bridger-Teton National Forest made an 

oil and gas leasing decision in the forest 

plan signed in 1990. Subsequent 

Environmental Assessments were 

completed in the early 1990s to consider 

the impacts of oil and gas leasing in 

various Management Areas throughout 

the Forest. Since the early 1990s, several 

issues that have some bearing on oil and 

gas leasing have arisen and new 

information has become available. The 

Forest reviewed those issues and the 

new information and documented that 

review in a Supplemental Information 

Report dated February 25, 2004. The 

Forest Supervisor concluded that the 

new issues and information did not alter 

the previous leasing decision in the 

Forest Plan. Subsequently, in 2005 the 

Forest Service sent lease parcels 

covering 44,720 acres to the BLM for 

competitive lease sale. The BLM offered, 

sold and issued leases on 20,963 acres 

in December 2005 and April 2006, and 

sold but did not issue leases on the 

remaining 23,757 acres in June and 

August 2006. Following protest and 

BLM State Director’s Review, an appeal 

to the Interior Board of Land Appeals 

(IBLA) was filed for the December and 

April lease sales. The appeal included 

‘‘Request for Stay,’’ which the IBLA 

granted. Upon request by the BLM, 

IBLA remanded the appeals back to the 

BLM for resolution. This supplemental 

analysis will address the resource issues 

and effects analysis concerns identified 

by IBLA and additional issues identified 

through this scoping effort. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for action is to 

determine whether and to what extent 

analysis of new issues and information 

might alter the oil and gas leasing 

decision as it relates to the 44,720 acres 

forwarded to the BLM for competitive 

lease sale. This action is needed to 

address the appropriateness of the 

previous leasing decisions, to decide the 

final disposition of the suspended 

existing leases and lease parcels, and to 

be responsive to the IBLA remand 

requiring incorporation of the new 

issues and information in the BLM 

decision to lift the suspension of lease 

parcels and issue oil and gas leases. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed federal action is to lift 

the current suspension on the issued 

December 2005 and April 2006 leases 

and to issue those that were sold but not 

issued from the June and August 2006 

sales. To do so requires the analysis of 

new issues and information not 

available to the deciding officials at the 

time the leasing decision was made. 

Possible Alternatives 

The alternatives to be considered may 

include continuation of the current 

leasing decision contained in the forest 

plan, and the no action alternative, and 

potentially others identified in scoping. 

The no action alternative would involve 

not issuing the leases that have been 

sold but not issued, and the cancellation 

of the leases that were sold. Additional 

alternatives may be identified once 

scoping is completed. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The Forest Service is the lead agency. 

The BLM and the State of Wyoming are 

cooperating agencies. 

Responsible Official 

The Forest Service responsible official 

for determining if and to what extent the 

analysis of new issues and information 

would alter the oil and gas leasing 

decision contained in the BTNF Forest 

Plan (36 CFR 228.102(d)) is Kniffy 

Hamilton, Forest Supervisor, BridgerTeton National Forest, 340 N. Cache 

(P.O. Box 1888), Jackson, Wyoming 

83001. The BLM responsible official for 

final decision (43 CFR 3101.7) relative 

to the issuance or disposition of the 

leases and lease parcels is Robert A. 

Bennett, State Director, BLM—Wyoming 


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6454 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 23 / Monday, February 4, 2008 / Notices 

State Office, 5353 Yellowstone (P.O. 

Box 1828), Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Forest Service will determine if 

and how the current Forest Plan oil and 

gas leasing decision, as it relates to the 

44,720 acres, should be changed based 

on new information. If a new decision 

is determined not to be needed 

following preparation of the 

Supplemental environmental impact 

statement, that determination is not 

subject to appeal in accordance with 36 

CFR 215.12. The BLM will then decide 

whether or not the revised FS NEPA 

analysis is adequate, and subsequently 

whether to lift the suspension on the 

existing leases and whether or not to 

issue leases on the other lease parcels. 

Scoping Process 

Scoping for a supplemental statement 

is not required (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4)), 

but due to the length of time since 

scoping associated with the current 

leasing decision was conducted, the 

agencies are soliciting comments 

specific to new issues or information. 

Letters will be sent to the forest mailing 

list of known interested parties. Public 

meetings held in 2006 in association 

with forest plan revision efforts 

generated issues relative to oil and gas 

leasing. Comments received during 

those meetings will be considered in 

this supplemental analysis. The scoping 

process will assist the agencies in 

identifying specific issues to be 

addressed related to the purpose and 

need and the scope of the decision. Mail 

comments to the addresses given above 

for further information. Ongoing 

information related to the proposed 

action and related analysis will be 

posted on the Bridger-Teton National 

Forest Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/ 

btnf. 

Preliminary Issues 

Preliminary issues associated with the 

proposed action include: 

(1) The drilling and production of 

wells subsequent to leasing could 

impact air quality and air quality related 

values, with emphasis on cumulative 

effects due to extensive development in 

the Pinedale area. 

(2) The T&E listed Lynx, or its habitat, 

could be impacted by subsequent 

exploration and development activities. 

(3) Impacts to water quality due to 

subsequent surface disturbing activities 

could adversely affect the Colorado 

River Cutthroat Trout. 

(4) The development of a 

transportation system to support field 

development could adversely affect 

mule deer migration routes in the area 

and fragment habitat. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the supplemental 

environmental impact statement. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review: A Supplemental 

DEIS will be prepared for comment. The 

comment period on the SDEIS will be 

for a perod of 45 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. 

The Forest Service believes, at this 

early stage, it is important to give 

reviewers notice of several court rulings 

related to public participation in the 

environmental review process. First, 

reviewers of a DEIS must structure their 

participation in the environmental 

review of the proposal so that it is 

meaningful and alerts an agency to the 

reviewer’s position and contentions. 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. 

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, 

environmental objections that could be 

raised at the DEIS stage but that are not 

raised until after completion of the final 

environmental impact statement may be 

waived or dismissed by the courts. City 

of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 

1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin 

Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 

1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of 

these court rulings, it is very important 

that those interested in this proposed 

action participate by the close of the 45- 

day comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are made 

available to the Forest Service at a time 

when it can meaningfully consider them 

and respond to them in the final 

environmental impact statement. To 

assist the Forest Service in identifying 

and considering issues and concerns on 

the proposed action, comments on the 

DEIS should be as specific as possible. 

It is also helpful if comments refer to 

specific pages or chapters of the draft 

statement. Comments may also address 

the adequacy of the DEIS or the merits 

of the alternatives formulated and 

discussed in the statement. Reviewers 

may wish to refer to the Council on 

Environmental Quality Regulations for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing 

these points. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21) 

Dated: January 25, 2008. 

Kniffy Hamilton, 

Forest Supervisor, Bridger-Teton National 

Forest. 

Jane D. Darnell, 

Acting Wyoming State Director, Bureau of 

Land Management. 

[FR Doc. 08–472 Filed 2–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Clearwater National Forest, ID; Travel 

Management Plan 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Revised notice; intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement. The original notice was 

published in the Federal Register Vol. 

72, No. 228, November 28, 2007/ 

Notices, pages 67268–67270. A revised 

notice was published in the Federal 

Register Vol. 72, No. 243, December 19, 

2007/Notices, pages 71874–71876. 

SUMMARY: On November 28, 2007, the 

USDA Forest Service announced its 

intent to prepare a travel planning 

environmental impact statement (EIS). 

The proposed action would designate a 

site-specific transportation system and 

prohibit indiscriminate cross-country 

traffic. The EIS will analyze the effects 

of the proposed action and alternatives. 

A Revised Notice was published to 

extend the due date for scoping 

comments to January 11, 2008. This 

Revised Notice is being published 

because the due date for scoping 

comments has been extended to 

February 29, 2008. The Clearwater 

National Forest invites comments and 

suggestions on the issues to be 

addressed. The agency gives notice of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) analysis and decision-making 

process on the proposal so interested 

and affected members of the public may 

participate and contribute to the final 

decision. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

February 29, 2008. A 45-day public 

comment period will follow the release 

of the draft environmental impact 

statement that is expected in June 2008. 

The final environmental impact 

statement is expected in January 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send written or electronic 

comments to: Lochsa Ranger District, 

Kamiah Ranger Station; Attn: Lois 

Foster, Interdisciplinary Team Leader; 


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